Wave of my future....Team Advil Chapstick

Well 2008 is almost here, and in case some of you were wondering... I WILL be racing!! Yippee :) When the new season comes along I will have traded in the beer and tea (Victory Brewing 2005-2006 /TEAm Lipton 2007)for some lip smacking chapstick and and the best ibuprofen on the market. uh-huh...good stuff!










and of course, we will be riding FUJI BIKES. We are riding that super awesome frame, pretty isn't it :)

happy me. what an awesome team!

interesting statistic

80% of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former “tomboys” — having played sports.

gogirlgo

Holiday-isms

One of my favorite quotes from this season's holiday:

"I don't eat chocolate, my body is a temple designed to only hold whiskey and In and Out burgers."

just a few holiday side notes:

1.) I'm thinking it's a sign that the Wildman is growing up (Wildman is my baby brother), considering his Christmas present from me came from Crate and Barrel. I mean really, did anyone EVER think it would be appropriate for Todd to get gifts (that he wants!) from a place like that ;-)

2.) Moms with boys go absolutely nuts on girls for Christmas. After all the years of hot wheels and dinosaurs and action figures, it can finally be all about ribbons and bows and pink and princesses!

3.) The drive to family is ALWAYS worth it...even if it means missing out on a lingerie christmas party (yes...co-ed) ;-)

4.) No I don't feel guilty planning a bike ride for Christmas morning.... ahem.

bicycle pimp(ette)

Sorry about the broken camera, it means I don't have any live photos for you...
But let me tell ya, the 2008 Kestrels are looking hot. I've seen 'em myself.
And my dealers are liking them too. yep yep.

Changes

Have you ever noticed that when you head into new directions that there are always a few bumps along the path?
Long story short, I broke my phone and my camera...so no pictures for now :(

no fun......

so i'm driving in traffic and i'm on my cell with my dad. i tell him i better go so i can pay attention to the highway change coming up...on average i drive about 3-5 highways each time i head out for dealer visits. he says to me, "ok but honey please drive safe".. i promptly respond by saying that it's not hard to be safe when you're going 5mph!!! ughhh

More travel adventures...

Lets see... since I am now a traveling sales girl by day, and off-season racer in training by night....I have entered into a whole new realm in the workout world. In less than one month, I have done "gym time" in Temecula, Pacific Beach, Pasadena, Corona and Huntington Beach..

Gettin' around :)

Have to chuckle...

I've definitely had my share of trying out new eateries lately. Lets see...in the last week, I found great fish tacos in Pacific Beach, and awesome sushi in ummm where was I, oh yea Poway (ever heard of it? well there are a lot of people there)...then I had some darn good tasty tortilla soup right here in HB. I reckon by the end of this week I'll have eatery reports from San Diego, Lake Elsinore...and possibly Santa Barbara, but no way in Vegas...(that'll have to wait a few weeks).

Get the picture?


By the way...I AM TRAINING.
(i just sell bikes between workouts now instead of surfing the web..hahaha)

Who was there?

Yes, it was a beautiful and sunny day out here in Southern California, and I absolutely cannot complain about the weather (heck...i didn't even wear knee warmers!), however today's training ride reminded me of the treacherous Oak Glen Stage at Redlands a few years back. No, not the climbing portion that we were all anticipating (and by the way...i am NOT doing big climbs like that right now hahaha!), but remember that crazy wind on that day that drew us out into a single file string for over twenty miles!! It was a horrendous day. It was God-awful bad. Today was just like that. Thank god this time there was no Ina Teutenberg dragging my ass along the gutter....whew...lucky me.

so, in case you are all wondering....yes i am training :)

IN CASE YOU HAVENT SEEN IT........

Allow me to introduce the 2008 PK RIPPER LOOPTAIL. I know where they are........

Back on track and slightly on the attack...

I have not forgotten my blogger life! I have just been VERY busy these days. Yes, I am now a Race Pro turned Sales Pro, but don't let that fool you --I will be kitting up and getting busy racing next year! More news to come on that ... but man, I got to say that I am not at all pleased with the "report" I read on Cycling News about the 2008 NRC racing schedule announcement (no offense to Mr. Mark Zalewski...because it's not his fault!)
It's just that the report reminds me how much the women in our sport are being left behind....and that totally gets me riled up people.

Totally........

Now now now.. you don't have to tell me, I know that there are plenty of way cool people out there doing their part support grow and enhance our sport for women, but it's time that the big daddy (USA Cycling) does it's part too. Make some dang requirements that these big time mens races, at the very least(!), add a one day women's criterium or circuit race to the schedule. Don't tell me it's too hard or that it costs too much money, please don't go there. It's not that hard!

Jeez....

People are accomplishing way more difficult tasks in this world.

puff puff puff...

Hopefully the fires are going to start settling down now.... it's been tough on everyone in SoCal -- no ifs ands or buts about it.

Yo Tony!

I wish these pictures would post larger in size!....this is about as cool as it gets when you are talkiing old school bike shops in the heart of L.A.! Check out the sign and check out the front window. The owner (his name is Joe..Tony has passed away) told me that the windows used to get rocks thrown through them all the time. The solution besides your typical bars? How about a cool piece of art?! LOve it. It was way cooler in person. This shop is something like 60 years old! And JOe?...well he was about the sweetest old man I've ever met :) ...he bought our bikes too.....even sweeter!

Well.... here it is.

First of all... I love my family. I love my friends. I love my job. I love my life. I love my world.

But, let me tell ya.....it's been a long couple of weeks! In the last ten days...my son got in a mother load of teen trouble, my dear grandmother passed away, my luck ran out on hwy 5 and I got a speeding ticket clocked at 90mph (hey... got it down from a hundred before the dude tagged me), I jammed the cd player in my car (very costly repair coming my way), I drove into a cement pillar and got my first scratch on my "new to me" car, and I even went the wrong way on a busy Huntington Beach Rd. ---only to have a bunch of cars come at me head on!!! ---yes, I survived to tell the story!
The good news is that I think I'm coming back around to Earth now.... thank the stars.

Love Birds...

Mike and Lauren tie the knot....congrats to them!

Live and in the flesh...and man that woman can sing!

..took a break from work and mama-hood and training and went to see PJ Harvey at the Orpheum Theater in L.A. last night. That woman is amazing. She's beautiful, sweet, modest, rough, talented, smart, etc etc..... get the picture? Plus... there were some famous peeps there watching the show, but I don't keep up on famous people very welll...so how was I supposed to know!

Track Nationals..

Why don't more people go to watch this stuff? It was SO impressive!!!

INTERBIKE 2007 ... OBEY TRACK BIKE.

I love my job. Look at this sweet fixed gear bike in our line. Shepard Fairy and Fuji.... making it happen.
Trust me when I say that this bike is even sweeter in person (just like me!! hahaha)

Woof!

Got home from Interbike a few hours ago....the dogs are barking louder than ever!

Celebrate the Bike

On my way to Interbike.... see you there!!!

Sweet Shop... www.SLB23.com

Giving Props to one of my dealers...check him out.
This has gotta be one of the cooler web pages I've seen.....

You really know it's the "Off-Season" when....

..when you've had more glasses of wine in one week than rides!

Good thing I kept the brakes on!

Normally, I open my brakes up all the way on my bike. I don't like abrupt stopping one bit. I don't even like to use my brakes.

Usually.

Today was a different story. I jumped off the start of a streetlight with a pretty fast moving bus (remember So Cal speed), only to be shocked into an abrupt stop when the bus pulled over about five hundred meters from the light. I had just worked up to full speed behind the darn thing, and was smack dab on the bumper, right on the middle of the big beast. I was totally caught off-guard when the thing stopped!
Thank goodness I had absentmindedly left the brakes all the way closed today, due to a recent wheelset change. You'll be happy to know I held it up through the sideways fishtail skid! Probably lost some serious tread on the tire from that one, and probably turned more than a few heads with my antics. Some local high school was just getting out and there were people everywhere! I was the only clueless one. Chuckle chuckle.......

The Lyons Dynamic Duo

Making the jump from "Racing" Pro to "Sales" Pro...Can you say STEEP learning curve..?!

Enough said.

Tis the "Off-Season"

Well....for me it's the off-season anyway! It's time to bust out the running shoes. That picture above is from The Activa Sports photo shoot I did a couple of months ago. Funny note about that day: just before that picture was taken, a real live tasmanian devil blew through our photo site. It was nuts!!! I'm not sure I ever knew those things were real beyond the Road Runner cartoons...beep-beep!

StarStruck--

I was driving home from work today, somehwere along PCH ...between Seal Beach and Huntington Beach, when Simon Cowell pulled up alongside me. How fast did I hang up my cell and get a picture? ...well evidently, not fast enough! --For those who know me, it's quite appropriate that he is my first star sighting. Good thing it was just my brother (and not a dealer!) that I hung up on.. LOL!

Working Girl

That's me in the picture just heading out for my first official "working day" in my new job as THE Southern California Sales Rep for FUJI and SE Bikes. In case you dont know about these companies, take a looksie..www.fujibikes.com and www.sebikes.com
What a cool day.

My New Baby

2005.5 Jetta TDI ... yep yep. happy me :)

Something tells me that...

EuroBike might blow Interbike outta the water when it comes to cool stuff going on....

Picture this....

Back and forth she goes. Specting to be doing some serious drive time soon...

Cover Girl

Way to go Miss Mara Abbott! Gotta love it when a woman makes the cover !

Xtra - Xtra....read all about it-- PART TWO

http://www.toddlyons.com/journal.shtml

Not Exactly My Idea of a Good Time....

Loads of rain. Tons of crashes. A broken bike and a DNF later.....not exactly how I envisioned Nationals!
The post race festivities were still fun though... great food, great music, great people! Can't beat that....

Chicago-Chicago!

Welcome to Downers Grove...
Home of the U.S. Criterium National Championships.... yeah baby.

Boys....

Myles' first comment after school: "There are so many hot girls, Mom."
I had to laugh.....

We are starting High School people!!!

---are you digging that sweater vest or what?

Not good news.

I spoke with Kim over the weekend, and she is in good hands.....but will have a long road to recovery.
Be safe out ther people....life can change in the blink of an eye.

Kim --at Lipton Team Training Camp. February 2007


In case you haven't already read about it...here is the report from Cyclingnews.com:

Team Lipton rider injured in collision with truck
Kim Geist, a 20-year-old Olympic hopeful on Team Lipton, is recovering at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest after a collision with a tractor-trailer early this week. The Emmaus native suffered a broken pelvis, broken ribs, two collapsed lungs and several fractured vertebrae in the incident, but sources say her doctors expect her to make a recovery and she should return home sometime next week. No surgery will necessary, although one of her lungs is still being inflated artificially.
According to an article in Friday's Morning Call, Geist was riding on PA Route 100 Tuesday morning when a truck driven by Lee Reichwein, 41, of Locustdale, made a right turn in front of her. Geist struck the side of the cab, then, according to a friend, she curled into a ball as she fell under the truck's rear wheels, which rolled over her.

And the beat goes on...

Ok.... long time, no post. I know, I know... I must seem like a bit of a blog flake at the moment, but I assure you I am still alive and kicking! So much is going on these days, that I'm not exactly sure where I should begin.
Let me start with the Tour de Toona wrap-up. The rest of the weekend went very well for the team. The end result was TEAm Lipton on the the top step of the podium for Individual GC, Team GC and the QOM title! Well done ladies...!!
From the Brenda perspective though, I have to admit that I was crushed to be sitting on the sidelines during the criterium Sunday, considering that last year I won that darn stage!!! The good news is however, that my back has taken a magical turn for the better, and I finally feel like a normal human being again. I don't exactly have the top end fitness that I'm used to having at this time of the year..... and I am pretty much tailgunning it at the races, but I couldn't be happier about that fact that I am actually capable of being on my bike without pain!! Cheers to that.

Stay tuned for more updates.....

Calling all BMX'ers

Check out this bad boy. One for all you old schoolers.
Hot things are happening in the Fuji/Se Bike world.... hot hot hot!

Travel Girl

Been on the go-go lately. more soon......

The Best of the Best

Amazing.

The Fab Five at The Tour De Toona

(l to r) Kristin Armstrong, Kori Seehafer, Lauren Franges, Lara Kroepsch, Meredith Miller

Stamp.

The girls put a stamp on the stage today.... well done.

Taking the good with the bad................

Shall we start with the good news? --or the bad? What the heck... let's just get the junk out of the way, shall we?
First of all, thanks to EVERYONE who has made an effort to check in with me. Here's the deal: The injury I had at The Liberty Classic (June 11th) is still very much affecting my body. Honestly, I thought I gave my body the time it needed to heal, but evidently that's not the case. I basically fell apart on stage two of The Tour De Toona, and finished outside of the time limit (by three minutes!...so close!). Anyway, (for my non-cycling friends) that means I am unable to continue the race. Most likely I would have pulled out and not finished.....but more than anything I wanted to be able to get over the hump of the first hilly days...and then help my team on the days that weren't so hilly, knowing full well that we need the numbers here to be able to strategize our race plan. I guess I underestimated both the injury in my back, and the way the hills were going to get me! I have never finished outside the time limit here at this race, so it was big blow for me...but after I checked my ego about the whole situation, I realized that this is all for the best. And that's that.
Ok... done with the bummerside of things. Now, please allow me to share with you what an awesome experience it is to be part of this program! The girls are racing such a smart race and they are truly racing as a team. It's a pleasure to watch (even if from the sidelines!). And as I have said before, Kristin Armstrong is a born leader. The opportunity to be her teammate is a real honor, she brings out the best in all of those around her. All of the girls are shining when they need to, and it's keeping the morale high around the TEAM LIPTON camp. Keep in mind... the girls are racing with only five riders from here on out, and at this point, we have the yellow jersey, and we are leading the team overall classification (we are also within striking distance for the sprinter and climber jersey competition too). Let's just say we are poised for some great days of racing ahead!!! So again...stay tuned :)
ps) we have Mike Tamayo as our team director and it's been great to work with him again!!

Xtra - Xtra....read all about it.

Stay tuned for more....

Brother Todd... daring traits run in the blood.

go ride already...

Notice the BMX trophy on my workbench. I earned that baby decades ago, at a dusty track somewhere outside of central Ohio. Just a testament of my long-lived love for the bike. (oh yea... also notice the framed picture of little myles as a baby...sportin' the flannel! cute hey...)

Today...

a little bit of alot of things i love. that's a good birthday.

Bummer.

When I first began watching and reading about professional cycling, I was completely drawn to Henk Vogels and Stuart O'grady. It was so obvious to me...their passion for the sport. When I used to watch them on tv, they were such a breath of fresh air from all the stuffy Euro guys.... they just seemed like two of the most jovial and animated personalities out there. By the way...guys with big hearts tend to make me melt, and I think it's quite obvious how big Henk's and Stuart's hearts are! And besides, they also reminded me so much of the outgoing, cutting edge types that I grew up with around the BMX tracks (again...very refreshing as a newbie to the road racing scene and the stuffiness that sometimes was associated with road cycling!). Anyway, I've always admired these two guys. Unfortunatley, they are both out of commision, after both having crashed recently. It really breaks my heart to know these guys are out. Here's wishing them a smooth road to recovery.....

And he's off...!

Just dropped Myles off at the bus stop for two weeks of summer camp. He's quite the little jetsetter... he flew in yesterday from Florida (just flew there tuesday from Ohio and just had a week in SoCal right prior to that!)
Now he's in for some mountain biking, ziplining, horseback riding, campfires, hiking, camp songs etc... etc... (ok...and girls!) What a sweetie.... he was so excited. I'm missing him already... it sure is quiet around here!

BTW--

I think it's crap that VeloNews hasn't reported on Nationals yet.....

Two Things---

First ... Kristin Armstrong is (pardon my language) a serious bad ass! The woman is unstoppable. Another title for the champion! And just look at that time trial machine. It's beautiful and stealth.... my favorite combination of adjectives ;-)

Second ... I am finally feeling somewhat back to normal with the backside issue. I am still VERY aware of my injury, but my body has definitely began to take a turn for the better. Gotta smile about that!

Bubble News..

When you live in the professional cycling bubble you miss all sorts of things... like hey..when did the postage go up? jeez.

Times ... they are a changin'

Saw this picture on a desk at my parent's house. Me and my cute little man Myles.... at his second grade graduation (June 2000). Are all mothers in love like this? It's hard to believe that he's just four years away from college already! I think I will have to get a dog (or two) to cure my heart when he goes.....

OHIO--

Made a trip back to see family and friends (yes i took my bike!). The big news of the trip was that I attended my 20 year high school reunion. Hahaha... I know I know... don't say a word!

The Visit with Family and Friends...HB2007

Here's the rundown to the photos:
First one is me and my longtime friend Erin. She and I have a very long history, that all started the day we met(in 1988!)...we went to Mexico to have "fun" in a VW van... and as fate would have it, the van broke down, and we got stuck for a couple of days in San Diego. No extra clothes.. no money.. only a van to sleep all of us in...what an adventure we had! That would be the start of many adventures...and we've been good friends ever since :)
Next up is a couple of pictures with my relatives. My Aunt Terry (in the pink top) is a Grandma. Can you believe it?! She has always amazed me with how young she looks! Those are her daughters, my cousins Bridget and Charlotte, and their little ones in the picture below... two very cool cousins to have!...and their kids are so sweet.
After that, we have Myles and his super sweet friend Patrick. I think those two had a very nice time taking in the two-legged sights ;-)
I saved the best for last.... that little thing in the bottom picture is Dyani. She is my brother's dog. She has got to be one of the most interesting canines I have ever met. Yes... she sleeps under the covers. Sometimes I look at her and I could swear she is trying to be human!

Yep..... it's just like that. Smile and bring on the good life.

My back still "ain't right". I think I might have torn a ligament or something. It's not this often that I am so uberconscious of my... well, my ass actually, to be quite to the point! :)
... Jeez. I have not yet, in all of my years of racing, had an injury like this from a crash. As a matter of truth... I usually don't crash. I think I play a safe game out there. Even though I am known to be a bit crafty and risky on the bike, I believe I have the skills to back it up, and I'm not afraid to say that. Nope. Not afraid.
I may not be the quickest up all them hills, but I am not scared for high speeds, tight spaces, and tricky spots. Truth is... I love it. But...this time, it has gotten the best of me. I think I really am injured. I still stick by my story that there wasn't any dangerous riding going on when that crash happened.... just a little tight riding...which led to some bumping and tangling...and then some of us met the pavement ---in a most intimate way. Ahem.
Damn... that's part of the game though hey...
Well... even though I am having issues.... I'm still smiling ---and still thankful for my rockin life. Hell yep.

Manhattan Beach Grand Prix

Some of us found our way down to the beach after the race Sunday.
My back is not doing so good, and has actually taken a turn for the worse since racing Nature Valley, so.... I decided not to race this weekend at Manhattan Beach.
But it doesn't mean that I'm not enjoying myself! What's that saying? "When you are given sour lemons... make lemonade." That`s pretty much the case for me at the moment. It's really been a great trip, regardless of the setback with the body. I have still been out on some great coastal rides down here, plus... we have been making our long overdue rounds, visiting with family and friends! More later...
And kudos to my teammate Kroepsch, for her top five finish at Manhattan Beach.

Road Trippin'......

Heading South with MLuv and PattyMac.

At least I know that Myles isn't lonely when I'm away...

More on Nature Valley...

Here we are just before the stage race began. We went on a fun team ride with these women ---and Bob... our host:)
Bob`s dad Tom (also pictured) was our other host. They took great care of us!
Alot of the women in this picture put in volunteer time for our race... Thanks for your support ladies!



We came away with a solid team effort for The Nature Valley Grand Prix. Everyone made a valuable contribution to the win. It was my first time defending a leader at such a big stage race, and I have to say that it was incredibly rewarding to work for Kristin... she really is a true champion! My teammate Meredith (who is linked to this blog in the column to the right), put up a great post about the week of racing... check it out.

Celebrating the Win!

Here we are --all smiles after the win at Nature Valley. ...more reporting to come....